Hey gents, I recently picked up a lightly used JD 2020 with a loader to use around the farm. I'm looking for options on a smaller hay rake. A friend offered to let me use his big rake, but with the spaces I'll be in, there isn't much room for something that large (I don't think). What do yall use on smaller plots?

Roll bar or smaller rotary, Kuhn makes a decent small rotary rake. Stands the hay up so it dries quicker.

WOW that tractor has some big rubber on it. So BIG it looks like they had to take the fenders off to accommodate them. It looks In great shape though!

Good tractor. I use a regular old John Deere hay rake with three wheels that has a drive shaft on the back axle you can disconnect so you can go on the road. That will pull all the rakes I know of. I have a 3020.
Borrow equipment is the right price

Any decent roll bar rake would be fine. Most older New Hollands around here can be picked up for around $1000 in working order, maybe less if you can wait for a deal.

I can't get over the rear tires on that thing.

I use a New Holland 256 and John Deere 640 Dolly Wheel rake. I pull the New Holland front and JD behind tandem. I prefer the New Holland when I am rake with just one. I have learned I much prefer the steel rake teeth over the newer rubber mounted ones. Dolly wheels are nice on any rake.

I should add - with that tire size - make sure you check drawbar length and consider the distance from the rake to tire when turning. It would be very easy to wrap a non dolly wheel rake up in those tires.

Good tip Tree. I've done it with regular tires....

That's an excellent point. I suspect that's going to leave a "loop" at the end of a wind row. Not a big deal, but you'll have to watch close with each left hand reversal.

I use an enorassi bat rake 8 wheel v rake, also have a jd 660 side delivery rake I occasionally use, but it's slow when you get used to the other one. I bale for one fella that uses a rotary rake, and they are nice as well. Good luck

JD 640 rake works fine for us for last 25 years. Good enough for the 25 acres of hay we make.

Nice tractor!
I use an OLD David Bradley rake that I'm not even sure where it came from. Any rake in decent shape should get the job done.

the rake wouldn't have to be perfect. I have a new Holland baler in my barn I'm storing for a friend at the moment, I'd like to put up some square bales for my critters. Until now, I've been storing loose hay, and it takes up so much room.

how do you haul all that loose hay in? Man, I think square bales are bad and I could not imagine trying to bring in loose hay

There are lots of rakes for sale on craigslist https://carbondale.craigslist.org/search/sss?query=hay%20rake&sort=rel

If you are mowing with a mower conditioner you may get away with narrowing up the windrow and not raking if you can get the right weather. Raise the shoes up so the hay is held off the ground by the stubble.

I rake it by hand, and use a pitchfork it into a trailer, then haul the trailer to the barn and put it in a hay crib. 1-2 acres of hay mowed, then raked by hand, and pitched is a lot of work. Sure do have a lot of respect for the older generation who had to do it that way.

Maybe hire this girl to do it...

To heck with the rake, I'd get one of those.

I have one of those, can’t/couldn’t afford another one

you could buy all new equipment for what one of them will cost ya in the long run.specially when the wife finds out.

I wore the O-rings outta 3 of the hay pushers in the last 10 years